Illustration of a flying bumblebee with long, shaggy hair. It has a yellow ruff around its head, black between its wings, then more yellow, followed by black, and ending with a rusty orange tail.
Appearance: Little Giant Bumblebees are the size of small dogs, with round bodies and long, soft, fuzzy hair. They have a yellow ruff around their head, a black band between their wings, then a yellow stripe, followed by a black stripe, followed by a rusty-orange tail.
Giant Bumblebees: The magic that made the flowers of the Giant Flower Forests giant also made their pollinators giant. Like the majority of their ordinary-sized bumblebee counterparts, Giant Bumblebees are social insects that form small colonies. They range from the size of a small dog to that of a large dog, but most are medium sized. Giant Bumblebees feed on nectar from giant flowers and gather pollen to feed their young.
Like ordinary bumblebees, Giant Bumblebees can sting repeatedly if they need to, but they are generally docile and ignore people and animals. In fact, having fewer predators than ordinary bees, Giant Bumblebees are even more gentle and docile. They don’t attack unless something harms them or enters their hive.
Main Traits: Little Giant Bumblebees are the smallest Giant Bumblebee. They are also one of the most common Giant Bumblebees. In addition, they are active for more of the year than other bumblebee species, their smaller size meaning that they need less food, which is a benefit during those times of the year with fewer flowers. They also have especially long, thick hair to keep them warm in conditions too cool for other bees. Little Giant Bumblebees make small nests of twenty to forty bees above ground in hollows or thick grass.
Habitat: The Giant Flower Forests of the High Mountains.
Interactions with Sapient Peoples: A favorite with druids, Little Giant Bumblebees are particularly docile, easily getting used to living near people. When these bees are treated well, they become affectionate, letting people pet and cuddle them.
Inspiration:
- The early bumble bee (mostly), the frigid bumblebee (a bit), and bumblebees in general.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_bumblebee
- https://petehillmansnaturephotography.wordpress.com/2016/07/10/early-bumblebee/
Little Giant Bumblebees are part of the Crossroads Setting for the tabletop role-playing game, Magic Goes Awry. Click here to go to a list of the other strange and wonderful magical creatures from the Land of Crossroads.
